Elephants in the Sky

This picture (taken by Steve Dolan) is related to the section under "Flood"

Sky

Before you go spreading rumors, allow me the explain that we don't really have elephants in the sky here. It is merely a reference to a very interesting conversation Camilly (4 yrs old) and I had today on the "pula-pula," aka trampoline, today.

Although...last night we did herd some cows out of our yard and a month ago we shewed out a horse. Normally animals are right outside our yard, but recently they've felt the need to come in. In the past month we've also had a bat and a rat in our house but unfortunantely, the rat is still somewhere in here.

On that note...sorry it's taken so long for me to update. Much has been going on. Here's a little peek into my life here...

Flood

Saturday night, before Easter, it rained hard all night long. But what's new, right? I mean, this is the rainforest afterall.

Well, when you've got a city in the rainforest, you have dams. And when you have two dams break following a night of heavy rain, you get a flood. And that's what happened.

And it came without warning. Without the luxary of local news covering the fragile dams, without police sirens or goverment assistence.

It went from an ordinary Amazonian rain to a devastating flood in less than two hours. Just enough time for most people to excape to dry land.

I'd never experienced anything like it in my life. Friends I had made, friends whose houses I would go to weekly, were suddenly left with the only the clothes on their backs. The little possessions they worked so hard to purchase, were washed away in filfthy flood water.

And as the day progressed, we opened up our house for about 15 friends to sleep in, without the convinience of electricy, as our power had been knocked out for a couple days.

Within 24 hours the waters receded, it all happened so fast and so unexpected that I don't know if I would have believed it had I not seen it. On Easter I was looking, in shock, upon a friends house that was entirely submerged in water. The next day I was in their house helping them clean.

It was hard to watch hundreds of people lose possessions, to watch as the city officials did virtually nothing, to watch people throw out their ruined pairs of shoes and few stuffed animals. It was hard to watch as other children dug through this same trash, trying to salvage the unsalvageable. It was hard watching a mother wash off her child who was covered in 'mud', with water that was just as dirty. It was hard to watch as people tried to salvage disease infested beds, because it was just too much, too valuable, for them to throw out onto the street.

It was a blessing to see the hope in the community, to gather with friends to help make and pass out soup, to sing praises with families in the street, to pray for others in their time of need, to open up my closet and open up our home. It was a blessing to host families in our church and to visit with them and their children. It was a blessing to be there and help and offer hope.

Immediately following the flood, we spent a lot of time delivering food to different people, and trying to assist families how we could. Days after the flood, we were able to help purchase new beds and stoves for families.

Thank you for all who kept Altamira in your prayers; God's presence was very real and powerful here.

Adventures

The Friday before Easter, I road my bike a few kilometers with some friends to Angélica's uncle's house. Behind his house is a stream that runs through the rainforest. It was gorgeous and an incredible experience! I loved hanging out with the youth in such a tranquil, peaceful place.

A couple weekends ago Chelsea turned 21 and so her and I and a different group of youth traveled up to the waterfalls. There was about 15 of us packed into a truck. On the way there we first hit a 'pot hole' that was so big, half the truck went underground and one girl bailed out through the window (which was touching the ground.) The guys all helped lift the truck out and we were on our way again until we hit a particular bridge. Most the 'bridges' here are merely pieces of wood layed down...but this bridge was missing the wood. So we parked the truck and walked there. All in all, we walked about 7 kilometers till we reached the waterfall and caves. It was an amazing experience and I loved the adventure. I love being in the Amazon!

Teaching

This past weekend I got to teach at Aplha Circles which is a Portuguese-English small group which meets at the church on Friday nights. The number of people who attend always varies, but about 30 people are generally expected. We play games, have skits, and a teaching in English which is then translated, and afterwards we break up into small groups to discuss the teaching and our thoughts about it, in English. I taught about the power of love and in the small group discussion, one lady told me that this was the same thing she was studying that morning in her devotions. Cool!

On Saturday I was asked if I could speak that night at the youth service and I agreed. I wanted to speak in Portuguese, but as I didn't have enough time to both prepare a talk and translate it into portuguese, I let Cleide translate for me. I spoke on how a walk with God is more than just crying out 'Lord, Lord' and how it's more than just doing good works and coming to God with prayer requests. It was a cool experience, and afterwards I had a few people tell me how the message was so relevant to their lives and what they needed to hear. Gracias a Deus!

I loved having the opportunity and experience of teaching at these two events.

Friends

One of the great experiences I've had here, is just befriending people and building relationships with all sorts of people. I have made amazing friends at our Vineyard (Mirante) and the Central Vineyard. I've also become great friends with a few girls who just moved here from another city, and a few girls who I know because I work out with their moms at the gym. It's been such a great experience getting to know these people and build relationships with them!

Assurini

Tomorrow I am leaving with Chelsea, Patty, and my portuguese teacher Claudia to go to the Assurini which is an Indian reserve along the Xingu River. I will be teaching Art and Theatre in portuguese. Pray that we have safe travels, that I may speak portuguese well, and that we will have a fun time!! I'm really excited :)

Thank you for everybody who has been keeping Brasil in your prayers. Please continue to pray for wisdom and discernment in my life; physical, emotional, and spiritual strength; and that my portuguese will continue to improve.

Happy Birthday MOM!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

A Glimpse

When I went on the River with Kevin in March, we revisited this villiage (same as the one in the picture below.) I got to spend two days playing games and just hanging out with these kids and it was so much fun. Take note in this picture, that the walkway is now actually underwater. From the time I took the picture below, until the time I revisited in March, the water rose to cover the walkways and the floor of some of the houses. By now, all the floors of the houses are probably underwater.

This is a church in one of the villages we visited on the river; picture taken in January--notice the height of the water.

Sunset on the River; picture taken on the most recent River trip with Kevin.

Castles in the Sand

There is something magnificent about sinking your toes in the sand and letting the waves wash over your feet, while entranced in the wonder of how the magnitude of the ocean meets the vastness of the sky. In this moment, the world seems so perfect, so right. It's the sensation of having part of your body enveloped in a sphere of peace and tranquility while simultaneously a body wrapped up in a sphere of curiosity, questions, wonder, and an overwhelming, though oh so slight, understanding of God's almighty power.

Salinas was refreshing. The ocean was beautiful. The conversations were provoking. The relationships were strengthened. And my mind was given a pleasant break from the strain of trying to understand Portuguese.

Now I'm back to the swing of things (whatever that means). A few new events are taking place this upcoming week which I am looking forward to being apart of. These range from starting an art project to visiting a local hospital. For now, I'm off to my small group that's all in Portuguese then going to an Alpha group for ESL students (Alpha is three weeks old and in Portuguese and English.)

Até mais! Peace, love, and harmony.

Amazon Adventures

Here I am in Maraba, half way to Salinas--our final destination--visiting the newest branch of the Xingu Mission. Two international missionary families currently live here, next to a Brazilian missionary family from Altamira. The first family came in August, the Brazilians moved shortly after, and the second family joined them just this past month. We arrived here Friday late afternoon and will leave for Salinas with one of the families Monday bright n’ early.

Yesterday the youth came to the church (which is currently attached to the Brazilian family's house, looks like a small covered eating area at a park), for that Saturday night's youth service. And guess who had the privilege of giving the message? I did!--translated by the wonderful Dee. I was originally asked to give a testimony but felt led to give a short sermon on the power of prayer instead. It was a really great night, and I loved the experience. Prior to that night's service I spent the day teaching the children the hand game "My-chica-chica," and playing Cops and Robbers. In a half hour I'm off to play volleyball and other games with them, and at night Elba will be preaching for Sunday's service. (About 50 children were at last night’s service, and I'm told to expect around 100 people total for tonight's.)

Redefining Road Trip
The time in Maraba has been a great experience so far, but it was a rough ride up. On Friday we (Steve, Elba, Camilly, and Alyssa Dolan and me) left at 5 a.m. and spent 11 hours traveling with a grand total of 5 people in the car...may I remind you that Camilly is 3 and Alyssa is 1. And the drive was far from smooth. I'm not sure how many of you have gone off-roading before, but I can hardly imagine an off-roading experience that can even compare to this Transamazonian experience. The dirt (sometimes muddy) road is covered with massive pot holes and sudden drop-offs that often cannot be seen until you physically approach them and no longer can dodge them. It gives the vehicle, and your neck, such a beating, that I literally found myself unable to look in any direction other than straight on for fear of injuring my neck. Unfortunately though, looking straight on doesn't exempt you from injury and within the first half of our trip to Maraba, Elba got hurt pretty badly on the top or her head, her neck, and upper back, though she is doing fine now. We have ten more hours of driving tomorrow to get to our destination. Coming home, we will have another good 18 hours of travels to look forward to.

A Brief Update on the River Trip
As you know, I had the amazing opportunity to travel with Kevin Vanhulle, Chelsea, Isaiah, and a Brazilian couple and their two children along the Amazon River. This trip was an absolutely incredible time. The purpose of this mission was to disciple people along the River who have committed their life to Christ, but need more training. We were able to host small groups, visit with different families who we have built relationships with, and spend quality time with their children. In a few instances Kevin and Nay (the Brazilian), would meet in somebody's house and disciple them. In such a case, as it would have been unnecessary, and perhaps obnoxious, for me to have joined in for such an intimate time, I would play games with the children. Now, I've never seen myself really involved with children's ministry, but God definitely used this opportunity for me to share God's love with these children, and it was a BLAST. I spent time playing different water games with them, card games, and other silly games that I couldn't describe here. It was so genuine and so much fun! My favorite game was trying to stand up in a little dug out canoe then row around while still standing. I loved all the laughter and smiles on this trip.

My other favorite thing was how incredibly beautiful the experience was and how God flooded me with a sense of peace throughout the trip. I will never forget the beauty I witnessed and the since of God's glory I felt. At one point Chelsea, Isaiah, and I were sitting watching the sun set (after an afternoon of re-teaching ourselves how to dive) and Chelsea told us that in Ohio when she was with her friends and bored, they would ask each other, "If you could be anywhere in world right now, where would you be?" And it was such an awesome feeling to look out upon the bright blue painted sky, the lush forest, and the reflective water, sitting with two amazing friends, blessed with perfect weather, and sense God's peaceful presence, and come to the realization that there was absolutely nowhere else in the world I would want to be. Even greater than this, was that this feeling followed me throughout the trip. The second place where I felt this feeling the strongest was while canoeing for two hours through the rainforest with Isaiah another afternoon.

God's been doing so much, and it's been such an incredible experience. Thank you all who are supporting me through prayer and financial giving. This next week I will be spending the majority of my time in community with various missionary families from all three locations (Altamira, Porto de Moz, and Maraba). I am very excited to have the opportunity to learn more about the families and build stronger relationships with them, as well as become rejuvenated and refreshed.

May God's Grace be with you.

More Travels

My most recent travel on the river with Kevin was very fruitful in terms of the people we discipled, the children we connected with, and my personal spiritual walk with God.

And while I'm anxious to write about my different experiences and adventures, my nearly closed eyes and over worked brain refuse to follow by hearts desire to finish the blog.



So if I can't tell you about my experience now, why bother writing anything at all?

Well...I'm leaving in about seven hours (5am) with the Dolans for a little beach town called Salinas. As there is no internet access there (so I'm told), I will not be able to update my blog until the first of April.


--although you can check back before then just in case we do have access




There's power in prayer, so please continue to pray for me, this mission, and the people we interact with.

I love you all and am so thankful for everybody in my life.